Chasing Juilliard
by RainbowBrite64
Summary: It takes 9 hours and 52 minutes to get from Lima, OH to Juilliard in New York City. Rachel Berry thought she had considered all possible unforseen circumstances that could delay the journey. Noah Puckerman was just along for the 243 dollars.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee.

Only Puck and Rachel are featured in this story, but the following is part of the background: Quinn's baby belongs to Finn, Puck and Quinn never got together, Rachel and Finn's mutual attraction faded after Quinn's pregnancy came out, and Puck and Rachel **did not** date. Puck and Rachel are not really friends, but are friendly for the sake of the team.

* * *

Rachel Berry had spent her Saturday quite productively, beginning with a morning yoga class, running errands, and food shopping, and was just now returning to her house. She noticed her cell phone on the kitchen counter, which was unusual since she always brought it with her everywhere. When she checked her voicemail messages, she became ecstatic, quickly followed by panicked.

"_Hello, this message is for Rachel Berry. Ms. Berry, this is the Brian Johnson, director of Juilliard's summer music program. I am calling to let you know that we've unexpectedly had a slot open for a female performer and are looking to fill it immediately. We are inviting you to audition here in New York at 2:00pm on this upcoming Monday. We were very impressed by the tape that you sent us and look forward to hearing more of your work."_

This upcoming Monday! How was she going to get there? Her fathers were out-of-town for the weekend and her car was in the shop. She certainly couldn't afford a last-minute plane ticket to New York City.

Rachel frantically called the number that was listed on her missed calls list. "_Hello. You have reached Brian Johnson. Unfortunately, I am unavailable for the remainder of the weekend. I will return your call when I return on Monday morning. Thank you and have a nice weekend._"

Rachel was frantic. She had to make it to this audition, but she had no way of getting there. She quickly found a bus leaving Lima for New York at 4:35pm this afternoon. She had 20 minutes to pack and get to the bus depot. There was no way that she was going to miss her chance to take a critical step towards her future Broadway career.

Noah Puckerman had spent the morning sleeping and the afternoon playing video games. His mother and sister were visiting his aunt since there would be no school on Monday for Sarah due to a teacher in-service day. Puck relished weekends to himself because he could sleep as long as he wanted and wander around the house naked. However, it was currently 4:30pm and he hadn't eaten yet. A quick survey of his kitchen revealed that there was relatively nothing to eat…at least nothing that Puck considered edible. So, he grabbed his letterman jacket to throw over his t-shirt and jeans and headed out to his truck.

Rachel realized that she probably looked insane literally running the entire mile to the bus depot with a pink suitcase trailing behind her. However, despite her best efforts, she was too late. She saw the bus in the distance as she ran up to the depot. And that is when Rachel Berry sat down in the middle of the street and cried her eyes out as her dream vanished in a cloud of dust.

As Puck was making his way to Taco Bell, he noticed a very strange sight…someone crying in the middle of the street. Then, he saw it was Berry and it made complete sense because the girl was absolutely crazy. He pulled over and got out of the car.

"Um, Berry, you might want to move before you get hit by a car."

Rachel looked up startled and then the look on her face changed to something Puck did _not_ like.

"Puck! You're just the person to save me. You have a truck. Why didn't I think of this earlier?"

"Um, Berry, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I need a ride…"

Puck looked at her quizzically.

"…to New York City."

"Oh hell no, Berry."

But then Rachel began to cry again and Puck was a goner. He was a sucker for crying girls and although him and Berry certainly weren't friends, he had come to sort of like her…well not quite _like _her, just not want to light himself on fire when he was around her, most of the time anyway.

"Crap…Berry…Rachel…I'm sorry. What's going on?"

"I have the chance to audition for this prestigious summer music program in New York City, but the audition is Monday and my fathers are out of town and my car is in the shop and they're looking to fill the spot as soon as possible which means I need to get to New York if I want any chance at getting in and I'm just hoping that you will be kind enough to drive me there."

"Okay, take a breath, Berry. What's in it for me?"

"Um, gas money, of course. And all the money I have in my wallet…243 dollars."

Puck looked at Rachel. It's not like he was doing anything else this weekend. And hey, 243 dollars could go pretty far. He would definitely earn it riding alongside Berry for hours. And she was looking at him like he was her last hope and her brown eyes looked as if they were actually pleading him to accept and she was biting her lip in this nervous, yet sexy way, and _damn, when did Berry get so hot? Um, what, where did that come from? Focus, you're a badass._

"Please, Noah…."

_Ah, shit, she used my first name._

"Fine, I'll drive you. How long is this going to take anyway?"

"9 hours and 52 minutes according to Google Maps."

Puck chuckled because it was moments like this where he was actually amused by Rachel. "How precise. Wait, why are we leaving now then?"

"Puck! It is imperative that I get to this audition and we must allot for unforeseen circumstances that could delay our journey. We have to go _now_."

"Fine, Berry. Get in the damn truck and we'll be on our way."

The two sat in relative silence, with only the faint sound of the radio in the background, as they headed towards the highway. Puck was surprised that Rachel wasn't talking incessantly; instead she was staring out the window like she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"I know I'm going to regret asking this, but why is this so important to you anyway, Berry?"

"This is absolutely critical to my future goal of being on Broadway. Juilliard is the optimal place for my collegiate training and I assume that they have very high consideration of alumni of their summer camps."

"Bullshit. What's the real reason, Berry?"

"What do you mean?", Rachel squeaked.

"You want to get out of Lima…I get it. But that doesn't explain why you're acting like this is such a big deal."

Rachel sighed. "People have expectations of me. And I don't want to let them down. I _have_ to be the best. Do you know what I mean?"

"Nah, people only expect the worst of me and I say, 'who gives a shit'. You shouldn't worry so much what they think. Screw 'em. Be like me…a badass who does what he wants."

Rachel looked at him and softly said, "Sounds like I'm not the only trying to live up to expectations. It's just the expectations that are different."

Puck grunted. He did not sign up for this philosophical crap, but what really bothered him was that in a single conversation with Rachel, she was able to see right through him.

**A/N**: This story won't be as many chapters as my previous ones, because frankly there's only so far you can stretch 9 hours and 52 minutes.


	2. Chapter 2

After their strange conversation, Rachel and Puck rode in relative silence except for the background noise of the radio. Puck was just focusing on driving, while Rachel was lost in thought watching the scenery pass by. _Puck called bullshit on me_. That wasn't particularly surprising. However, the surprising part was that Noah Puckerman was just about the last person she anticipated would realize that part of her motivation to do well was the desire to live up to others' expectations. This intrigued her and made her wonder if perhaps she had underestimated him. Rachel was brought of her reverie by the truck pulling off an exit.

"What are you doing, Puck?"

"I'm starving, Berry. I was on my way to get something to eat when you kidnapped me five hours ago. I need to eat something…and so do you."

"Kidnap is a bit strong, don't you think? Besides, we should probably go a little further first."

"Relax, Berry. We've already passed the Pennsylvania border. Tell you what; I'll drive the whole rest of the way tonight so you can have all day tomorrow and Monday morning to prepare."

"Okay…well I guess I am sort of hungry…"

Puck pulled over at the first place they saw. It was a seedy-looking diner, but the food was awesome. Even though Rachel insisted on having a salad.

"Alright, Berry, we can hit the road again. It's 11pm, so we should definitely be there by 5:00am."

"Are you sure you're okay to drive the rest of the way tonight? I realize that you must be tired and while I can sleep as a passenger, you wouldn't be able to."

"It's fine…I slept until 1pm this afternoon so I'm good to go. If we have to, I'll pull over when we're much closer and we can finish the trip tomorrow morning."

"Sounds good", Rachel said as she began to walk over to where they parked the truck.

"Oh, crap."

"What's wrong, Puck? Oh…"

Puck's truck was currently being blocked in by about fifteen motorcycles that had most certainly not been there when they went into the diner.

"Where did these come from?"

"I'm going to guess they have something to do with that biker bar across the street."

Rachel took off in the direction of the bar.

"Woah, Berry, slow down, you don't want to go in there…"

However, she just barreled right on inside. Puck was a badass, but even he knew that he was way out of his league in this establishment. These were hardened biker dudes; most of whom likely had criminal records. However, what worried him the most was the way that a few men looked at Rachel as she walked quickly to the center of the room and announced, "Um, hello, there are motorcycles blocking our mode of transportation. Could you gentleman kindly move them, please?"

Puck quickly realized the way that the men's eyes were looking at Rachel like she was a piece of meat and automatically pulled her closer to his side. The men began to form a semi-circle in front of Puck and Rachel.

"Isn't she a sweet little thing? Look at that ass. We'd love to get our hands all over her, wouldn't we boys."

As the other men nodded and whistled eagerly in agreement, Puck pulled Rachel to stand behind him. He felt her face pressed up against his back and her fingers digging into his sides.

"Give us ten minutes with her, kid, and we'll leave your face alone."

"Touch her and I'll bash your head in."

It was strange considering the circumstances they were in, but Puck felt an odd feeling of affection as he felt Rachel cling to him like he was the only thing standing between her and her demise.

"Oh isn't that nice. Prince Charming here is protecting his girl. That's fine. We'll just kick your ass instead."

Puck knew that things were going to get bad, so he turned his head and hissed, "Berry, get the hell out of here."

Even though he knew that he was about to be at the receiving end of a severe beat-down, Puck felt relieved when Rachel let go of him. _She's actually listening. At least she won't get hurt._

However, then he saw that instead of running for the exit, Rachel was making her way over to the bar and getting up on it.

"Rachel, what the hell are you doing?" Puck said this more to himself than to Rachel since she was too far away at the moment to really hear his whisper.

Puck saw a fist being raised in front of him and braced himself for the first punch. Then, a crystal clear voice sang out over the crowd and in response, the noise in the bar dulled.

_Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter  
Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter  
Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade  
Don't tell me not to fly, I simply got to  
If someone takes a spill, it's me and not you  
Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade_

She was singing a show tune. _Seriously?_ Of course, these men _obviously_ must be fans of Barbra Streisand. Hell, Puck was embarrassed to even know who that was and he wasn't half the badass that the guys in this place were. Strangely enough though, no one had hit him yet. He opened one eye and saw looks of confusion and faint amusement on the faces of the men in front of him. Apparently, her strange plan was working…they were so busy focusing on the crazy ass performance going on in front of them that they forgot about punching him. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that some were craning their necks to try to see up Berry's skirt.

In the end, it turned out that while a few of the men were genuine perverts, most of the guys in the place were actually pretty harmless. The perverts were just so astonished to see this strange girl singing that they just decided to head out to another bar with 'different' entertainment. The rest of the guys seemed to actually enjoy the performance, or were at least somewhat impressed by it. Some female bikers showed up and properly chastised the remaining guys for not stepping in to stop the almost-beatdown. After some conversation about their journey, as well as a long tangent from Rachel about her dreams of being a star, the bikers moved their bikes out of the way of the truck. As Puck was warming up the truck, one pulled Rachel aside.

"I'd hold on to that knight in shining armor there. Not many people stand up in a fight against Ox and his friends. I guess he thought you were worth it."

"Oh, no, Noah and I aren't together…"

"Really? Then you want to explain why he's standing there looking like he's ready to pounce if I make the wrong move?"

Rachel was left speechless standing there, as the man strode back in the direction of the bar.

"Berry, what's the hold-up? Let's get going. It's already midnight and I don't know how far I'll be able to drive tonight before getting tired."

"On my way, Puck…"


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry for the delay in updating. I hope to have the next chapter up soon. As a warning, there is reference to sexual material in this chapter…nothing explicit; no descriptions.

* * *

"Thank you, Puck, for what you did in there."

They had been back on the road for five minutes when Rachel had finally broken the silence.

Puck merely looked her and grunted nonsense syllables in response. He thought that was the end of the conversation until he noticed Rachel staring at him out of the corner of his eye.

"What, Berry?", he said, immediately regretting the decision to speak.

"I know you better than you think I do."

"Really? Do tell."

Well, you want people to think you're tough, but…"

Puck interrupted, "I am tough! Have you seen these guns?"

Rachel sighed, "I've long admired your lovely arms, Puck, but even you must agree that underneath the tough exterior is someone with a sensitive layer."

"Okay, you're clearly insane. I am _not_ a sensitive guy."

"I've heard you sing, Puck…you've got sensitivity underneath that Neanderthal exterior. If it makes you feel better, it's the kind of sensitive that girls find highly attractive."

"Whatever, Berry. What else you got?"

"Well you're obviously a very attentive lover."

_Who is this person and what has she done with Berry?_

"Um, Berry…we haven't done it…I'm pretty sure I'd remember that."

"_Obviously_, we have not engaged in a physical relationship. I derive this conclusion from the knowledge of your various sexual liaisons. Clearly if that many women will engage in sexual intercourse with you, you must be a thorough and attentive lover."

"Feel free to take a ride anytime, sweetheart."

You wouldn't have sex with me, Puck

"Um, yes I would. I may find you annoying at times, Berry, but you're hot. Trust me; I'd totally sleep with you. And it would rock your world."

"No you wouldn't. I'm a virgin, of which you are aware, and I know you wouldn't let me give up my virginity in a random encounter with a classmate. While I'm sure you would encourage me to pleasure you in other ways; you definitely wouldn't let things go all the way."

_Shit, how the hell does Berry know that?_

"And what makes you think that, Berry?"

"I base my conclusion on what just happened back in the biker bar. You were facing eight tough biker guys, but all you were concerned about was that I get out of there. You threatened to hurt them if they touched me, which I'm sure only made them more intent on harming _you_. You didn't care if you got hurt, as long as I didn't get hurt. You were protecting me at your own expense. That's a selfless act, Noah."

Puck grunted, but then said sincerely, "Yea, well thanks, Berry". Of course, he couldn't leave it there. "So, you've long since admired my lovely arms, huh?"

"Oh, shut it, Puck."

Puck lifted an eyebrow and smirked. "Feisty…I like that."

Rachel just shook her head and then quietly said, "Did you mean it?"

"When?"

"When you called bullshit on me earlier?"

"Yea, I meant it. The thing is though, Berry, it's not all bullshit. When I watch you sing, I don't see you wanting to be the best or wanting to live up to everyone else's standards. I just see you doing what you love. And that's going to be what gets you to be a star…as long as you don't let the bullshit part get in the way."

Rachel was left speechless. First of all, this was the most that Puck had ever said to her…it was probably the most he'd ever said to anyone. Secondly, it made complete and utter sense, which was somehow more shocking than any lewd or inappropriate comment he'd ever made to her. However, if she thought that this going to be the most shocking thing he'd ever said, she was unprepared for what he said next.

"Oh, and you weren't so bad yourself back there, Berry."

Rachel and Puck shared a smile…until Puck suddenly got a worried expression on his face as the truck began to make some unusual noises and the engine began smoking.

"Shit! Oh, no, no, come on baby, not now."

"What's going on, Puck??"

"It's an old truck…it could be anything…but this does not seem good.", Puck responded as he eased the truck to the side of the road. They both got out of the car; Puck to look under the hood and Rachel to pace feverishly next to the truck.

"Okay, well whatever is wrong with it is none of the basic stuff that I know about." He tried to start the engine. "It's dead."

"What are we going to do? It's the middle of the night and we're in the middle of nowhere. What if I don't get to this audition? Then, I won't get into the summer program and I won't get into Juilliard and then before I know it, it's twenty years from now and I'm playing Mother Superior in a community production of the freaking Sound of Music."

Puck had been feeling quite angry about the state of his truck, but a 'freaking-out Rachel' was way too amusing to keep him upset for long.

"Slow down there, Berry", he said laughing. "There was an exit about half a mile back that probably has a motel. We'll just stay there for the night and get the truck looked at first thing in the morning. I promise I will get you to New York on time for the audition."

With that promise, they began their walk back to the most recent exit and hoped that there was enough civilization in this part of Pennsylvania to actually have somewhere to sleep. The entire walk, Rachel kept muttering under her breath and while Puck wasn't quite sure she was actually speaking in sentences, he was able to catch snippets of her desperation. He stopped suddenly and grabbed her by the shoulders. Rachel was so surprised that she stopped in the middle of her repetitions of 'Idina Menzel'.

"Listen good, Rachel, because I'm only going to say this once. There is no way in hell that I am letting you miss this audition. If I have to fly us in a hot air balloon, I will, okay. So just chill out and stop giving me a headache."

Rachel looked up at him with shining eyes. _Oh crap, I made her cry. _But then, Rachel stood on her tiptoes and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Noah."

"Whatever, can we keep walking now?"

"Yes…but why?"

"Why are we walking? It's sort of obvi…"

"No, I mean why are you so passionate about helping me? You don't even like me."

"I've said you make me want to light myself on fire, but I never said I didn't like you, Rachel. There's a difference."

"Okay", she stated definitively and began to continue on the path towards the exit.

However, she then looked back with a smirk on her face as she said to Puck teasingly, "You called me Rachel…twice!"

He quickly caught up with her and brushing his arm against hers as he passed her, he just said,

"I guess I felt like a change…_Berry_."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Since there are so many Puckleberry stories out there, I wanted to offer a reminder that for this particular story, there has never been Puck/Quinn, Rachel/Finn, or Puck/Rachel romantic involvement in the past.

* * *

Once they had finally reached the exit, Puck and Rachel were relieved to see in the distance, an old Victorian home with a faded sign outside declaring it a "Bed and Breakfast". It was old and quite run-down, but the lights were on, which suggested that a room might be available for them. They entered the home with hesitation, but were soon eagerly greeted by an elderly woman sitting at a desk.

"Excuse us, ma'am. We regret entering your establishment at this late hour, but our mode of transportation has broken down and we're hoping to locate a place to sleep for the night."

"No apologies necessary, my dear. I am quite the night owl, so it isn't unusual for me to be up past midnight. As luck would have it, I have one room available for this evening."

"We'll take it", Puck gruffly announced, until Rachel elbowed him and he added, "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Wonderful. I have the room key for you right here. It is room number 4 at the top of the stairs", the older woman stated as she watched Puck sling Rachel's bags over his shoulder in preparation to carry them up the stairs.

"Aren't you two just the most darling couple", the clerk exclaimed as she began to hand over the key. "How long have you been married?"

When she was met with confused expressions, she began to withdraw the hand holding the room key ever so slightly. "You _are _married aren't you?"

Puck immediately recognized the potential ramifications of a negative response and quickly slung his arm around Rachel. "Of course we are, ma'am. We got married right out of high school last year, but we're still saving money for our wedding bands. Right, honey?"

For once in her life, Rachel did not have an eloquent response prepared. "Um, yes, um, there were lilies."

Puck rolled his eyes slightly, more to himself than for any observer, and in order to keep up appearances, he bent down and pecked Rachel on the lips. "That's my Rachel. She's always talking about the beautiful flowers at our wedding."

"Oh, how lovely. It's so wonderful to have you staying here. I'll walk you up to your room."

Puck and Rachel followed a few steps behind the woman.

"_There were lilies_. What the hell was that, Berry?"

"Shhh, she'll hear you. I'm sorry! I was unprepared for your lies!"

"It was the only way we were getting somewhere to sleep tonight. She clearly would not have given the room to us unless we told her we were married."

"Here you are, dears", the woman whispered, so as to not wake the other guests, as she opened the door to Puck and Rachel's room.

"Thank you", Rachel squeaked out as she paled catching sight of the single bed in the room. Puck was far more disturbed by the cat theme that appeared to be plastered throughout the room…and bathroom. However, Puck then noticed Rachel's reaction to the bed and decided it would be the perfect moment to tease his traveling companion.

He sauntered across the room and laid across the bed in a provocative manner. Patting the spot beside him, he stated, "So, Berry, I'm getting a little lonely over here in this bed. Anything you can do about that?"

Rachel just glared at him. "It's late. I'm tired. Let's skip the seductive crap."

As she grabbed her suitcase and made her way into the bathroom to change, he called out "Berry, I'm impressed! You think it's seductive though, huh? I'm such a stud."

Puck began to strip off his shirt and jeans, when Rachel emerged from the bathroom. She quickly covered her eyes. "Puck, what are you doing? You should warn people if you're going to start _stripping_."

"Relax, I'm keeping my boxers on. It's not like I had time to pack a suitcase when you accosted me in the middle of the street. I'm not sleeping in jeans, so you'll just have to deal with it. Besides, speaking of skimpy pajamas…"

Puck couldn't help but admire the way that Rachel's body looked in the short, light pink pajama dress. She quickly covered her top half with her hands as she noticed him leering at her.

"This is not skimpy…it's cute! Besides, I certainly didn't know I would be sharing a bed with a guy when I packed it!"

"Really? You're going to let me sleep in the bed…_with_ you?"

"Of course. You've been kind enough to drive me. I'm not going to force you to sleep on the floor and I am _definitely_ not sleeping on the floor."

"Aw, Berry, you care."

Rachel simply folded the covers down and gestured for Puck to finish getting ready for bed in the bathroom. When he returned and got under the covers, Rachel quickly turned off the light and was sure to keep to her side of the bed. In the darkness, Puck spoke.

"You know, Berry, this is the first time I've shared a bed with a hot girl without getting any action first."

"Wow, that's quite sad…however, if this is the appropriate moment to disclose details about our lives, this is the first time I've shared a bed with a hot guy, period. And that is also quite sad."

"You think I'm hot, huh?"

"You said I was hot first!"

"Indeed I did, Berry. It's okay though…I know I'm hard to resist."

A noise with equal parts annoyance and amusement emerged from the tiny girl, quickly followed by a yawn, which signaled the end of the conversation as they both drifted off to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Puck was suddenly awakened from his sleep and greeted with the sight of Rachel's pink dress riding dangerously high up her thighs as she stood next to the bed in some contorted position.

"Not that I'm complaining about the view here, but what on earth are you doing?"

Rachel suddenly popped up and exclaimed, "I apologize profusely for waking you. I woke up feeling incredibly anxious and decided to do a little yoga to calm myself down. You see, when I'm feeling stre…"

Puck's eyes had drifted closed during her speech, but when it seemed that she would be continuing for awhile, he abruptly cut her off by reaching his hand out to grab her wrist and pull her into bed. With her back pushed up against his solid chest, Rachel couldn't help but notice the warmth that emanated from the firm muscles. When her body remained rigid against his, Puck snaked her arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, with his eyes still closed, "Sleep, Rachel." With that, Rachel's body immediately relaxed and melted into his and she drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Puck woke up, lying flat on his back with his right arm on his stomach and left arm strewn towards the top of the bed. He looked down to see Rachel curled next to his side, just barely touching him, with her head tucked within the crook of his underarm. After adjusting to being awake, he recalled what he had done in the middle of the night when he was awoken by Rachel. Puck wasn't sure why he had done it…it was strangely instinctual when he molded her small frame against him and eased her into sleep. Although their position was now far less intimate, he felt a pull of affection towards the girl as he felt her soft breath gently blow against the side of his chest. As he heard her stirring, he quickly eased himself out of bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for the day.

Rachel was awoken by the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. In the brief moment between sleep and waking, her mind instantly returned to the middle of the night. _Was it real or just a dream? _She felt like it was real, but figured it must have been a dream. And if it actually _did_ happen, Puck probably wouldn't remember it because he was half asleep when he pulled her onto the bed and into his embrace.

As Puck stumbled into the room, he caught sight of Rachel sitting up in bed. Her hair was wild and she was clutching the sheet to her chest. Puck couldn't help but let his thoughts wander to some rather inappropriate scenes with regards to what else they could have done the night before to leave her scantily clad with wild hair. _It's not my fault…she's undeniably hot._ Rachel was suddenly pulled from her thoughts when she noticed Puck standing outside the bathroom door still only in his boxer shorts. Although she had seen him dressed in such attire last night, it felt more awkward in the morning.

"See anything you like, Berry", Puck said with a smirk as he noticed her staring at his torso.

Rachel's face immediately became a crimson shade and Puck groaned lowly in his throat as he realized that this made his mind go to even dirtier places.

To interrupt this cycle, he decided to steer the conversation to more neutral topics. "So, I was thinking we should look for an auto shop first thing."

"Oh, yes! We should definitely do that immediately. Perhaps we can ask the nice woman who owns this establishment. She will surely know who is available in town for repairs."

"Yea, whatever, sounds good to me. I'm done in the bathroom, so if you want to get ready or whatever, go ahead."

Rachel leapt out of bed, forgetting her skimpy pajamas, and ran to the bathroom, eager to start the day so that they could continue on their journey.

As Puck watched her scamper past him, he began to wonder if perhaps this little road trip was making him believe that there was something more to Rachel Berry than he had previously thought.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Many apologies for the long wait. I was lacking in motivation. With my previous two stories, my e-mail had gotten clogged so I turned off alerts/favorites/reviews for this story…but I think that made me feel like no one was reading it so I wasn't as motivated to write. I'll probably turn them back on for my next story! Anyway, as an apology, this chapter is _more than_ _twice_ the length of my usual chapters. Enjoy! (Also, if you want to listen along later in the chapter: _Fearless_ by Taylor Swift; _Need You Now_ by Lady Antebellum)

* * *

Rachel spent a much longer time in the shower than she had anticipated. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of the occurrences of the previous day. Though their road trip had lasted less than 24 hours so far, Rachel felt like a fundamental shift had occurred between her and Puck in that time. She realized that although they had possessed superficial knowledge of each other due to living in the same town and attending the same school for years, the events that transpired yesterday had provided her with a deeper sense of who Noah Puckerman really was as a person. Strange as it was to admit, she felt a sense of security with him because of the way that he had protected her, as well as a pull of affection toward him because of his unwavering devotion to helping her get to New York.

"Yo, Berry, you fall in?"

Rachel was pulled from her thoughts by those ever-eloquent words from Puck. Turning off the water, she sighed and shouted, "I'll just be a minute."

Meanwhile, Puck had kept himself busy for the last twenty minutes by doing pushups and imagining Rachel naked in the shower. Though Puck had noticed in the past that Rachel was hot, it was not until the previous day that he realized how attracted he was to her. Strangely, he found that getting to know her personality better actually made her _more_ appealing to him. All of a sudden, Rachel peaked out of the bathroom. Puck felt like time was moving in slow motion as the steam began to seep out of the crack of the door. He could see the beads of water dripping down Rachel's face and neck and then disappearing underneath the towel that covered her curves.

"Um, Puck, I seem to have forgotten a vital article of clothing. Could you possibly hand me what's sitting on top of my suitcase."

Puck went over to the suitcase and seeing the 'article of clothing', immediately smirked. Sitting on top of Rachel Berry's suitcase was a red lace thong. He picked it up and twirled it on his finger as he sauntered closer and closer to the bathroom door. He could see the blush creeping up Rachel's face with each step he took. Puck purposefully invaded her personal space, getting so close that he was almost pressed up against her. Rachel couldn't speak. She couldn't catch her breath. The air was thick with desire. Puck simply winked, handed her the underwear and stepped back so she could close the bathroom door. As she did, the only thought on Puck's mind was the various ways that particular moment would make an appearance in his future fantasies.

After Rachel finished getting ready, they headed downstairs. Puck was

"I am so f-ing hungry. We have got to get food now."

"This is a 'Bed and _Breakfast_', Puck. They will serve us breakfast."

"Oh. Cool then."

Puck noticed an anxious expression on Rachel's face and immediately realized that she was getting worried about the status of his truck and getting to her audition on time.

"Listen, Rachel, how about you go sit down there in the dining room and get us some breakfast and I'll find the owner and ask about local mechanics, okay?"

As Puck went to speak with the owner about finding somewhere to repair his truck, Rachel sat down amongst the various other guests in the dining room. Puck was having limited success as there was apparently only one mechanic in this godforsaken town and he didn't work on Sundays. However, after he poured on the trademark Puckerman charm, the owner agreed to contact the mechanic, as he was a close personal friend of hers, and ask him to make an exception for the 'lovely young couple'. Meanwhile, Rachel had found herself in conversation with a few older women who were staying at the bed and breakfast as part of their annual tour of bed and breakfasts in Pennsylvania. Apparently, they had already heard this morning from the owner about the 'lovely young couple' and wanted to hear all about their "courtship and wedding". To keep up appearances, Rachel began to regale them with details of their dating and had just moved on to their wedding when Puck made his way over. He decided to linger in the background for a brief moment to hear exactly how Rachel Berry pictured their wedding. Just for purposes of amusement of course.

"…so, then as Pachebel's Canon played, I walked down the aisle towards Noah, who looked just stunning in his tuxedo…"

"Don't you mean studly in his tuxedo, _sweetie_?"

Rachel blushed as she realized she had been caught by Puck. She blushed even further when Puck leaned down to drop a kiss against her lips. _Why does he keep doing that? And why do I keep liking it?_

"Oh, dear, you must be her husband. Rachel was just telling us all about your courtship and wedding! Such a lovely proposal story…serenading her with a song you wrote yourself about your love for her…and all those beautiful lilies all over the stage…just perfection."

"My Rachel does love her lilies", Puck answered, adding under his breath, "…apparently".

"Ladies, can I steal my wife from you for a moment?"

Puck tried not to think about how the word 'wife' actually didn't feel all that strange coming from his mouth.

"Of course, dear", the women responded as they returned to their own table.

"Okay, Berry, well the situation is that the only mechanic in town does not work on Sundays, but he's decided to make an exception. He's driving out to the truck right now to tow it in and we're supposed to meet him there as soon as possible. 96 minutes later, Puck and Rachel stood in front of Puck's truck as the mechanic, mostly obscured by the hood, let out another string of curse words.

"This does not sound good…"

"What are you saying, Puck? This _has_ to be okay!

The mechanic finally emerged. "Okay, we have big problems here. I can fix them but it's gonna take time and money. About 1,000 bucks."

Rachel frantically searched her purse for her emergency credit card as she shrieked in a high-pitched voice, "We have money, but we don't have time! We have to get to New York City by 2:00pm tomorrow"

"I'll do my best to get done what I can today, but I'll have to wait for a part to come in from Harrisburg, which won't get here until first thing tomorrow morning. Once I get the part, I won't need too much time to finish the job."

"Thanks, man", Puck responded to the mechanic as he slung a comforting arm over Rahcel and steered her away from the shop.

"Rach, I'll pay you back. I've got some money saved from my pool cleaning business and I'll get the rest somehow."

"Let's not worry about that now, Puck. I'm the reason we're here with a broken-down truck. We've got bigger problems. We're stuck here! All we can do is hope that he can get it done on time?"

"Berry, please don't freak out. We will figure this out. We'll find a way."

"I know, Noah. I trust you."

Unfortunately, the two quickly learned that their options were quite limited. In fact, the only option they had was waiting. There were no buses that came through on Sunday, a rental car company wouldn't loan them a car even if there was one in the vicinity, and no one in town would be willing to drive them all the way to New York City. Essentially, they just had to hope that the mechanic was finished by 9:00 the next morning. In order to calm Rachel's nerves, Puck decided to let her choose their "activity for the morning" (her words; not his). So this was how Puck found himself at a rundown skating rink alongside Rachel Berry. They had been skating side by side in silence for a few minutes, when strangely enough, Puck spoke first.

"When I was little, all I wanted to do was learn how to play ice hockey."

"You play ice hockey in addition to football and basketball? That's amazing!"

Puck chuckled. "Um, no, Berry. Have you noticed my hand hasn't even left the wall? I can't ice skate."

Rachel looked down at his hand and laughed. "Oh…"

Puck continued, in a softer voice. "My dad was a huge fan of ice hockey. He used to get on my case all the time as a kid about not being able to skate. It's funny…when he left, I wondered for months if it was because I wasn't any good at it. I finally figured out that wasn't true, but I can always find another way to blame his leaving on my screw-ups."

Puck looked up to see Rachel with tears in her eyes. "Oh, Noah…"

It was the most revealing thing that Puck had ever said to her and it was so sad. She realized that underneath that tough exterior was just a kid making up reasons for why he wasn't good enough for his father to stick around.

"Chill, Berry, it's cool", Puck responded, though in his eyes, she could see an expression of appreciation that she acknowledged his pain.

Suddenly, Rachel skated in front of him so she was standing backwards and grabbed his hands. She might not be able to take away Puck's pain about his father leaving, but she could teach him to skate and prove his father wrong. Noah Puckerman was _not_ a screw-up.

Puck noticed the expression on Rachel's face turn from that of sadness to determination.

"Um, Berry, whatcha doing?"

"Today, you will experience the Rachel Berry Method for ice skating. Let go of the wall."

Puck let go of the wall, but smirked as he thought about during what other activities he could experience the 'Rachel Berry Method'. Luckily, Rachel did not notice, as she was busy describing feet placement and hip alignment and other such things that would apparently make Puck better at skating. Puck dragged his mind out of the gutter to pay attention and about an hour and a half later was quite surprised at how effective the Rachel Berry Method actually was. Rachel beamed proudly from across the rink as she watched him skate. Puck wasn't stupid…he knew that this was more than a skating lesson. This was Rachel's way of telling him that it wasn't his fault that his father left. His eyes connected with hers and there was a moment of palpable sexual tension mixed with soft intimacy. Suddenly, a gaggle of young girls skated between them eager to begin their lessons for the day. Puck and Rachel took this as their cue to leave.

Rachel insisted that since she had chosen the activity for the morning, Puck should get to choose their afternoon activity. Puck really couldn't give a crap, but finally just decided they could go for a run around town. As they headed out to the street in their running clothes (Puck had managed to pick up a pair of gym shorts and a few shirts at a local place), Rachel naturally began to detail their running plan and calculate the appropriate speed for optimal cardio fitness.

Puck just laughed. "Berry, let's just _run_."

"It's pertinent that we figure out the appropriate distance and running speed before we begin to…ah, Noah Puckerman, what are you doing?!"

Puck just grabbed her hand and started sprinting as fast as he could. Rachel had no choice but to run with him since his grasp on her hand was so strong. Strangely enough, she found herself liking the freedom of just running like a maniac, as fast as she could with the wind in her hair. Even when Puck released her hand, she just kept running. She glanced sideways at Puck and with her eyes challenged him to a race. They finally both ran out of steam at the same time and collapsed on someone's front lawn. They were both breathing heavily because of the running and because they were both currently hysterically laughing. As their laughter died away, Puck looked at Rachel and thought to himself that he had never seen anyone look so beautiful. _Dude, that is totally not a badass thought…_

They spent the remainder of the day eating pizza and watching rented movies in their room at the bed and breakfast. Fortunately, the room was available for another evening. Anyone observing them throughout the movie-watching would have chuckled in amusement at their behavior; yet, both Puck and Rachel were oblivious. They began the first movie with Rachel perched on the edge of the bed and Puck draped across the desk chair. By the end of the movie, they were laying facedown side-by-side on the bed. As the second movie started, they positioned themselves to sit next to each other at the top of the bed with only inches between them. By the middle of that movie, they were laying on the bed with only their heads propped up to see the screen. Puck had thrown his arm around Rachel and she had curled her body towards him, with her head and hand on his chest where she picked at the material of his shirt. He began to unconsciously rub circles on her back, which lulled her into a light sleep. As he listened to the soft inhale and exhale of her breath, he too succumbed to slumber. Thus, by the end of the second movie, they were the vision of a young couple in love.

At around 8:00pm, Rachel began to stir. She immediately took note of her sleeping position and was horrified, yet slightly turned-on. She was draped over Puck, practically on top of him! She felt so embarrassed out of fear that he would think she was hitting on him. Though, come to think of it, he did have his arm around her, so obviously she hadn't just launched herself onto him without his involvement. As Rachel contemplated her next move, Puck began to wake.

"What time is it, babe?", he mumbled, still waking from sleep.

"Um, it's 8 in the evening."

Rachel was surprised when Puck didn't remove his arm from around her and instead just began to use his hand to sleepily play with her hair while his eyes remained closed. _Obviously_, if he didn't remove his arm, she would not be able to change her own position. So, yes, it was not by choice that her body remained draped over Puck's. It was so clearly not by choice…or so she tried to convince herself anyway. Finally, Puck opened his eyes and spoke.

"I'm hungry. You think anywhere is open for dinner in this town?"

Rachel lifted her upper body off of Puck's chest so she could look him in the eye as she spoke.

"Well, I recall seeing a bar across the street that I imagine remains open later in the evening."

Puck smirked sinfully as he thought of the fake ID sitting in his wallet. "Bar it is."

Rachel was suspicious at the expression of delight on Puck's face, but quickly became focused on extricating her body from his as soon as he removed the arm that had held her close to him.

With a glint in his eye and an eyebrow raise, Puck gestured to his lower half and said, "Oh and thanks for the body warmth there, Berry."

A red flush quickly highlighted Rachel's cheeks, which was naturally Puck's goal of being inappropriate. What harm was there in flirting with Berry, anyway?

Puck and Rachel made their way across the street and were very confused to be greeted with cowboy hats and country music as they entered the bar.

"What the hell? This is Pennsylvania. What's with the country music?"

Rachel suddenly started jumping up-and-down and clapping. "It's a country-themed open mic night!"

"And that would be…"

"Everyone gets up and sings country songs. I know just what I'm going to choose!"

With that, Rachel dashed over to the sign-up list. Puck decided to make his way to the bar and was pleased that his fake I.D. worked. He got a fruity drink for Rachel, but figured she wouldn't drink it because of not wanting to harm her vocal cords or some crap like that.

As he made his way to an empty table, he saw that Rachel had somehow finagled her way into being the next to perform. A familiar song began to play and he recognized it as that Taylor Swift chick that his sister liked. But as Rachel began to sing, he became mesmerized and found himself thinking that maybe Taylor Swift music wasn't so bad.

_So baby drive slow 'til we run out of road  
In this one horse town, I wanna stay right here  
In this passenger seat, you put your eyes on me  
In this moment, now capture it, remember it_

_'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this  
You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless  
And I don't know why but with you I'd dance  
In a storm in my best dress, fearless_

The entire time she was singing, Puck felt her staring right at him, though he wondered how she was even able to find him in the darkness while blinded by the lights on stage. He thought back to earlier that day when they were running wildly and wondered if fearless was what Rachel felt when she was with him. With her, he certainly felt fearless. It felt like he could do anything… _be _anything. Puck realized that during his pondering, Rachel had finished the song and was now walking over to him with an expectant look on her face.

"That was amazing, Rachel!"

"Thank you. The audience appears to want an encore. Will you join me for this next song? I know that you know it because I heard you singing along with the radio when you thought I was sleeping."

Puck just rolled his eyes and followed Rachel to the stage. Would this girl ever cease to surprise him? As the song came on, Puck sighed…he knew it well. But only because his mom was a fan, of course.

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor  
Reaching for the phone cause I can't fight it anymore  
And I wonder if I ever crossed your mind  
For me it happens all the time_

_It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now  
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now  
And I don't know how I can do without  
I just need you now_

_Another shot of whiskey can't stop looking at the door  
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before  
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind  
For me it happens all the time_

_It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now  
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now  
And I don't know how I can do without  
I just need you now_

_Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all_

_It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now_

_And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now_

_And I don't know how I can do without_

_I just need you now_

_I just need you now_

_Ooo, baby, I need you now_

As they finished singing to a standing ovation, Puck glanced over at a beaming Rachel. Only one thought crossed his mind: _Shit, I am so wrapped around Rachel Berry's little finger…_

A/N: The next chapter will probably be the last, unless I somehow think of something to make it last two chapters. **I have a few ideas for my next story so I thought I'd take a little poll.** As in all my stories, Quinn is pregnant with Finn's child, Puck and Quinn never got together, Puck and Rachel never dated, Finn and Rachel are no longer interested in each other. Okay, so let me know what you want next from me!

1. Rachel is up for a sexy vixen part in a local community play. She enlists Puck to teach her how to be sexy. You can probably figure out what happens. (I'm leaning towards this one because I've got more ideas for how it will go)

2. Rachel and Puck witness a crime and have to go into witness protection together. (This isn't fleshed out at all yet, so I think this might not be the best option)

3. Quinn organizes a camping trip. Rachel and Puck end up spending a lot more time together than either anticipated.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** The final installment. Thanks for reading! The reviews seemed to prefer option #1 in my poll, so my next story will be about Puck teaching Rachel how to be sexy. I don't know how to respond privately, so I'll just respond here to **PepperAnn13** to go for it with the witness protection plot bunny. (I probably won't write that one though then because I prefer to not write things that have already been done. So all of you that liked option #2, I refer you to her story.) The camping story might make an appearance in the future. For music reference later in the chapter, _She is Love_ by Parachute.

* * *

After listening to a few hours of some pretty hilarious (and horrific) performances, Puck and Rachel headed back to their room at the bed and breakfast. They walked back in comfortable silence with Puck's arm slung around Rachel's shoulders and her head resting on his shoulder. When they entered their room, Rachel disentangled herself from Puck so that she could get ready for bed. Impulsively, Puck grabbed Rachel and captured her lips in a sweet, yet passionate, kiss. She kissed back briefly, but then broke away.

"Um, Puck, what…"

She didn't get to finish her question, not that she even knew what is was that she was going to ask, because Puck reached for the door and with a quick comment about needing air, left her alone in the room. Rachel waited up for awhile. _What was that? Why did he kiss me? Why did I stop him? _She eventually fell asleep and when she awoke the next morning, she saw that Puck had slept on the floor and was already in the shower. When he exited the bathroom, she tried to initiate a conversation, but he merely grunted in response.

They walked over to the mechanic's shop in awkward silence, but were both relieved that the truck was ready. At the beginning of the drive, Rachel attempted to return their dynamic back to normal by chattering incessantly about things of little importance. Puck's reactions consisted of monosyllabic responses and grunts. However, when Rachel looked into his eyes, she could see the hurt that flickered there. She realized that he had felt rejected when she stopped their kiss. It was just that she was caught off guard last night and she wanted to know Puck's reasons for the kiss. _I probably should've kissed first, and asked later_. Puck's thought process during the ride was simpler. _She's not interested because I'm a jackass who's going nowhere fast._ They arrived at Juilliard with only moments to spare. When Rachel was lead to an auditorium for her audition, Puck snuck backstage to watch her performance.

"We are pleased that you were able to make it, Miss Berry. As you know, Juilliard's summer music program is quite prestigious and selective. It runs from June 1st to August 24th and we expect our students to commit to these dates."

"Of course, sir, I am able to commit to those dates. I am honored to even be invited to audition."

"Excellent. Proceed with your song."

Rachel delivered a spirited performance of 'Don't Rain on My Parade' and while the judges were likely thinking of Barbra Streisand, all that Puck could envision was a biker bar. He chuckled at the memory. After Rachel had finished her song, Puck could tell that the judges loved her.

"That was wonderful, Miss Berry. We are going to step out for a moment to discuss your performance and allow you to get ready for the monologue portion of the audition."

From his spot backstage, Puck saw Rachel's face become crestfallen as soon as the judges left the auditorium. He rushed out to the stage and Rachel was surprised to see that he had been listening backstage.

"Berry, what's wrong?"

"A _monologue_, Puck. I didn't even think to prepare a monologue. How could I be so stupid?"

"Don't you have something like memorized that you could use?"

"Well sure, but I can guarantee you that these judges have already heard about forty-seven versions of 'out damn spot'. I'm unprepared. It's useless. I'm just going to bow out now gracefully."

Then Rachel closed her eyes and Puck could tell she was imagining herself standing on this stage in front of an audience, blowing them away with her talent. And she was just going to let go of that dream, just like that? Puck saw the judges quietly enter the auditorium. They looked questioningly at the stage, likely wondering why he was standing there. He could see the head judge about to speak and knew that unless he did something at this moment, Rachel would just let herself lose out on this opportunity.

"Bullshit", he said loudly.

Rachel's eyes popped open and locked with his. "Excuse me", she responded with a mixture of surprise and annoyance not realizing yet that the judges were in the auditorium.

"What you just said…it's bullshit. You're not giving up because you're unprepared. You're giving up because you're just too damn scared that it won't work out. You live your life chasing after dreams, but the second that it seems like one might come true, you're just going to give up? You're scared shitless."

Rachel was incensed. "I'm scared? I'll have you know that I am not scared of a single…"

Puck interrupted. "You're scared of failure. You're scared of letting everyone down. You're scared of disappointing yourself. But the thing is, if you don't take the risk, you will end up disappointing yourself."

Rachel's eyes narrowed. He was right. She _knew_ that he was right. But who was he to lecture her about being afraid?

"Yea, well, what about you?", Rachel responded with fire in her voice.

"What about me?"

With that statement, Puck smirked slightly and Rachel was confused. What was he doing? Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the judges were sitting at their table, seemingly riveted by the conversation unfolding before them on the stage. She realized that while Puck likely meant all of the things he was saying, he was delivering them like he was in a performance. He was giving her a scene! And she was damn well going to use it.

"Fine, I admit it…I'm scared. But, you're scared too! You live your life trying your hardest to meet everyone's expectations that you're a loser. You're afraid of what might happen if you _don't_ screw up. Maybe I am afraid of failure, but you're afraid of success."

"Yea, well at least I'm doing something about my fears. _I_ took the risk. I kissed you last night because I want to be with you. But we can't be together because you're scared that it won't work out. You think that I'll somehow screw it up."

Rachel slapped him across the face. "You're wrong."

A moment of silence followed as they stared each other down, breathing heavily. Then Rachel pulled him to her for an intense kiss. As they parted, she spoke.

"I don't think you'll screw it up. And I want to be with you too."

The sound of applause filled the auditorium.

"Miss Berry, that was wonderful. It's a little unorthodox to perform a scene instead of a monologue, but it was such a raw, intense performance. What is that scene from?"

"Oh, um, it's sort of an original."

"Well, excellent work. It's clear that you have the musical and acting talents appropriate for our program. Congratulations…consider this your unofficial welcome to Juilliard."

"Thank you so much, sir!"

Rachel was positively beaming and Puck grabbed her hand to give it a squeeze.

"Oh, and young man, we were quite impressed with your acting abilities as well. While we often have too many female applicants for our summer program, we are always looking for more male applicants. If you can sing, we would be pleased to have you join us for the summer as well."

"Oh, Noah can sing wonderfully", Rachel responded.

"I appreciate it and stuff, but I don't really have the money."

"Oh, we have very generous scholarships funded by our alumni."

"Here", Rachel said handing him over a guitar from backstage. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Sorry about slapping you…I just figured I'd go all out for the performance. You can do this, Noah. I know you can. And just imagine what we could do with a whole unsupervised summer in New York… "

Puck raised an eyebrow at her seductive statement. This could be a very good summer for him. He sat down on a nearby stool and began to softly strum the guitar to tune it. And then he began to sing, looking at the judges, but making that Rachel saw him looking at her from the corner of his eye.

_I've been beaten down, I've been kicked around,  
But she takes it all for me.  
And I lost my faith, in my darkest days,  
But she makes me want to believe._

_They call her love, love, love, love, love.  
They call her love, love, love, love, love.  
She is love, and she is all I need._

_Well I had my ways, they were all in vain,  
But she waited patiently.  
It was all the same, all my pride and shame,  
And she put me on my feet._

_They call her love, love, love, love, love.  
They call her love, love, love, love, love.  
They call her love, love, love, love, love.  
She is love, and she is all I need._

He stopped playing when the head judge lifted his hand. "Welcome to Juilliard, Mister…"

"Puckerman. Noah Puckerman."

Rachel was ecstatic. She didn't stop talking from the audition room all the way to where Puck's truck was parked. She talked about how they could see all of New York's attractions together and go to Broadway shows all the time and maybe one day they could attend actual Juilliard together. Finally, Puck just pinned her against the truck and kissed her into speechlessness. When they finally came up for air, Rachel just smiled at him and then dove back towards his lips. When his lips moved to pay attention to her neck, he felt her arch her body towards him and she moaned 'Noah'. _Oh yes, this is going to be a very good summer._

**A/N:** Okay, I'm ending it here. I know I could probably write about their ride home or even about their summer at Juilliard, but I kind of like ending it right as they get together. I tend to be better at the "getting together" than the "established relationship". Hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
